I had a really interesting conversation after this story posted with the founder of Etransfr which, it turns out, did nearly all the app development. More details coming soon on the encryption, the partnership, and the app's next steps. Stay tuned.

I wonder, too, how much buyers weigh McAfee's recent (very public) antics against any new software he develops? Does his rep work for him, in that "nobody needs secure messaging more than McAfee"? Or does it work against him: "Last time I saw him he was fleeing from Guatemala, surrounded by guns." Or do people not care at all?

Until John McAfee releases some details on the key generation and distribution for Chadder it is too early for him to call it 'Secure'. I may be in the minority but I need specifics on exactly how the cryptography functions before I can trust an application.

Also, in my opinion Chadder doesn't yet deserve the title of 'Beta'. At best, the application is only alpha if not pre-alpha. The other issue that Chadder faces is that there are already other secure messaging apps that are far more polished such at VIPole and telegram.

As InformationWeek Government readers were busy firming up their fiscal year 2015 budgets, we asked them to rate more than 30 IT initiatives in terms of importance and current leadership focus. No surprise, among more than 30 options, security is No. 1. After that, things get less predictable.